Tottenham Hotspur 'prepared to pay £26m for Bryan Cristante'

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly prepared to make a formal approach for Roma midfielder Bryan Cristante.

Spurs have enjoyed a strong start to the new season under Ange Postecoglou, collecting 26 points from their opening 12 matches.

However, some momentum was lost before the November international break with defeats being suffered against Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively.

Of all the areas of the pitch, midfield is the one that has been least hit by injuries, with Postecoglou able to rely on the likes of Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma.

Furthermore, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has done little wrong when called upon and Rodrigo Bentancur has recently returned from a serious knee injury.

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Oliver Skipp also provides competition for places, yet it appears that consideration is being given to making a change in the engine room in January.

According to Tuttomercatoweb, the North London outfit are ready to try to tempt Roma into selling Cristante.

The 28-year-old has been used in central defence and midfield this season, making a total of 15 starts and one substitute outing in all competitions.

As well as Romelu Lukaku, Cristante has arguably been one of Roma's players of 2023-24, making it unlikely that Jose Mourinho would give the green light to a sale.

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Nevertheless, the report claims that Spurs may be ready to pay as much as €30m (£26.2m) for Cristante in the January transfer window.

A contract until 2027 theoretically strengthens Roma's position, yet they may also want to boost their financial position with a major sale.

Roma have previously been linked with Eric Dier, a player who Mourinho is familiar with and whose deal expires at the end of the season.

That throws open the possibility of a part-exchange, but much will depend on whether Roma are open to doing business when Cristante could play a key role in securing Roma a place in Europe for the next campaign.